Four-winged dinosaur discovered in China

FOUR WINGS: The Changyuraptor yangi is said to give experts a clue as to how the first bird came about [DINOSAUR INSTITUTE/NHM]

The fossil of the Changyuraptor yangi, a flying creature in the Cretaceous period, was unearthed at a graveyard in the Chinese province of Liaoning.

It is believed the dinosaur is the largest four-winged dinosaur to ever exist, measuring 4ft-long.

Researchers writing in journal Nature Communications say the pre-historic monster is a new species of microraptorine – a species of dino bird – with its "hindwings" playing a part in its flight.

It sported a full set of feathers over its entire body, each measured at 30cms long and had a super-long tail to help glide through the air.

Historian believe it's tail gave it more aerodynamic control to help it land safely – just like birds of today.

Researchers wrote: "The low-aspect-ratio tail of the new fossil would have acted as a pitch control structure reducing descent speed... which could be critical to a safe landing or precise attack on prey.

"Such pitch stabilisation could be particularly important for larger microraptorines (since they would tend to fly and/or descend more rapidly than small individuals). This effect explains why the tail fan is exceptionally long."

“Far more evidence is needed to understand the nuances of dinosaur flight”

Authors of the study

Before the discovery, researchers were unsure when the first "bird" existed.

It was originally believed that the 150-million-year-old Archaeopteryx was the oldest until the emergence of a 160-million-year-old fossil a few years ago in China that appeared to show older relatives of Archaeopteryx.

The most recent find shows that the Changyuraptor was part of the evolution into the first bird – and has somewhat clarified how the first bird did evolve.

Luis Chiappe, of the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, where the fossil is on display, said in a statement: "The new fossil documents that dinosaur flight was not limited to very small animals but to dinosaurs of more substantial size.

"At a foot (30 centimetres) in length, the amazing tail feathers of Changyuraptor are by far the longest of any feathered dinosaur.

"Clearly, far more evidence is needed to understand the nuances of dinosaur flight, but Changyuraptor is a major leap in the right direction."